Alva Curry

Case record: Alva Curry

STATUS

Alva Curry was executed by lethal injection in Texas on January 28, 2003, and was pronounced dead at 8:09 p.m. CST.

Timeline

• October 16, 1991 — Alva Curry and Mark Davis entered an Austin convenience store armed with guns and fatally shot clerk David Vela during a robbery.
• October 23, 1991 — Convenience store clerk Brendon Proske was killed in a similar robbery.
• November 8, 1991 — Curry was arrested after a tip from a confidential informant; a search of his home produced clothing used during the Vela robbery, a murder weapon, and the convenience store’s missing cash register drawer; Curry confessed to police his role in the crime.
• March 12, 1992 — The State of Texas indicted Curry for the capital murder of David Vela, committed during the course of committing and attempting to commit robbery.
• October 28, 1992 — A jury returned a verdict of “guilty” for capital murder of David Vela.
• November 5, 1992 — The jury’s punishment-phase special issue answers obligated the trial court to sentence Curry to death.
• November 22, 1995 — The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed Curry’s conviction and death sentence in a published opinion.
• May 6, 1998 — The Court of Criminal Appeals denied Curry’s application for state habeas relief.
• September 30, 1999 — The federal district court denied federal habeas relief.
• July 18, 2000 — The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court’s decision.
• March 26, 2001 — The Supreme Court denied Curry’s petition for certiorari review.
• October 25, 2002 — The trial court set Curry’s execution for January 28, 2003.
• January 28, 2003 — Curry was executed by lethal injection in Texas; he was pronounced dead at 8:09 p.m. CST.

Background

Alva Curry was a former gang member and drug dealer. He had prior convictions for misdemeanor theft and public intoxication.

Curry threatened to kill his older brother on two occasions, and he threatened to kill his mother-in-law once. In 1991, while on bond for assaulting his sister-in-law, Curry and an accomplice stole two motor vehicles, committed two aggravated robberies and two capital murders, and assaulted a man while holding him at gunpoint.

In a separate earlier proceeding, in 1972, Alva E. Curry, represented by court-appointed counsel, pled guilty to rape in Texas state court and received a sentence of 5--15 years. Before accepting the plea, the court advised Curry of the consequences and asked questions to ascertain whether the plea was freely and voluntarily given. After entering his plea, Curry was asked by the court if he had anything to say as to why sentence should not be imposed; his response was the one word, “Insanity.” Curry’s counsel explained that Curry was in need of medical treatment but counsel believed Curry was presently sane. The state introduced letters from two psychiatrists who had examined and found petitioner competent to stand trial and legally sane at the time of the rape. The judge allowed the guilty plea to stand. There was no direct appeal.

Curry’s pro se habeas petition in the district court generally alleged, inter alia, that his plea was involuntary, though not specifically focusing on the competency question. The district court addressed the competency issue and held that petitioner had sufficiently exhausted state remedies on this point, and refused to find the plea involuntary.

In the Fifth Circuit habeas case, the sole issue meriting discussion was whether the petitioner’s mental competency to plead was properly resolved in accordance with Pate v. Robinson. The court concluded that Curry could not succeed on the merits because the circumstances and procedures used resolved the doubt about competency. The Fifth Circuit affirmed. The decision included the statement that the court’s requirements were for procedures that were “adequate” to resolve the issue raised.

The offence

Capital murder of David Vela (robbery during capital murder)

On October 16, 1991, at approximately 2:09 a.m., Alva Curry and Mark Davis entered an Austin convenience store armed with guns.

Curry jumped over the counter and held his gun against the store clerk’s head. Although the clerk attempted to comply with the robbers’ instructions, Curry shot him in the temple anyway.

Before fleeing the store with the cash register drawer, Curry and Davis shot the slain clerk four more times.

The store’s video camera recorded the incident and the robbers’ distinctive clothing.

Curry demanded money and held his gun at employee David Vela’s head. When Vela was unable to open the store’s safe, Curry shot him in the temple at close range. Curry and Davis took the cash drawer, which contained $220. Before leaving the store, Curry and Davis shot Vela four more times before fleeing.

In spite of having the video, Curry was not arrested until November 8, 1991.

Life sentence case: murder of Brendon Proske (another convenience store)

Curry was also serving a life sentence for the October 1991 robbery and murder of another convenience store clerk, Brendon Proske, in much the same fashion. Brendon Proske was killed on October 23, 1991, in a similar robbery one week after the October 16, 1991 killing of David Vela.

The Payless convenience store robbery netted the two less than $75. Brendon Proske, age 23, was killed in a similar fashion.

Investigation

A tip from a confidential informant led to Curry’s arrest on November 8, 1991.

On the same day, a search of Curry’s home produced clothing that the two felons wore during the robbery, one of the murder weapons, and the convenience store’s missing cash register drawer. Curry confessed to police his role in the crime.

Arrest

Curry was arrested on November 8, 1991, after a tip from a confidential informant.

Trial

Charge and plea

The State of Texas indicted Curry on March 12, 1992, for the capital murder of David Vela, committed during the course of committing and attempting to commit robbery.

Curry pleaded “Not guilty” in the 167th Judicial District Court of Travis County, Texas.

Verdict and punishment

Following a trial on the merits, the jury returned a verdict of “guilty” on October 28, 1992.

The jury’s answers to the punishment phase special issue questions on November 5, 1992 obligated the trial court to sentence Curry to death.

Curry’s lawyer said the evidence against Curry made any defense difficult, and the evidence included a videotape from the Texaco store and Curry’s videotaped confession given the day he was arrested.

The quotation attributed to Curry’s defense attorney Larry Sauer was:

• “People who saw the video said they recognized that as Alva who jumped over the counter,” Sauer said. “You can see Alva firing, and the guy was found there on the ground, dead. It was pretty grainy, but you could still make it out.”

Other sentence involving Mark Davis

A jury sentenced Curry’s friend, 29-year-old Mark Davis, to life in prison for his part in the robbery spree.

Curry pleaded not guilty to a single count of capital murder but was convicted on October 28, 1992. Curry was sentenced to death a week later.

Sentencing

On November 5, 1992, the trial court sentenced Alva Curry to death following the jury’s punishment-phase special issue answers.

Curry was also serving a life sentence for the murder of Brendon Proske.

Mark Davis received life in prison for his part.

Appeals

On November 22, 1995, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed Curry’s conviction and death sentence in a published opinion.

Curry did not appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.

On May 6, 1998, the Court of Criminal Appeals denied Curry’s application for state habeas relief. On September 30, 1999, the federal district court denied federal habeas relief.

On July 18, 2000, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court’s decision.

On March 26, 2001, the Supreme Court denied Curry’s petition for certiorari review of the Fifth Circuit ruling.

Curry’s appeals included an argument that the judge should have allowed the defense to dismiss three jurors who displayed a pro-conviction or pro-death-penalty bias during questioning.

In the U.S. Supreme Court denial and subsequent delay, the execution was delayed about two hours while last-minute petitions for stays were considered and rejected.

The quotation attributed to Curry’s last statement included:

• “I pray with the help of God that you will forgive me for the pain I caused your family. I am truly sorry. I wish I could take it back, but I just pray and ask that you forgive me.”

Outcome

CST.

At the time of execution, Curry expressed remorse to the victims’ family witnesses and asked for forgiveness, and he was described as turning his head toward his mother and smiling, then nodding at Huntsville Unit warden Neill Hodges, who signaled for the lethal injection to begin. Curry coughed and sputtered as the lethal drugs began to take effect.

Curry had accepted his sentence and had said:

• “I believe I deserve to die,” he said. “They say you reap what you sow. When you live a life -- especially out on the streets -- you have a certain mentality that if someone wrongs you, then that person pays with their life.”

Curry also said:

• “I hope with the help of God the relatives of the victims can forgive me,” he said in an interview the week before his execution date.
• “If I could, I would take back the nights that all this mess happened. I hope with the help of God the relatives of the victims can forgive me,” he said in an interview from death row the week before his execution.
• “The wrong choices in life took me down a destructive road,” Curry said.
• “If I was still in the outside world, I might not have lived to 23 years old.”
• “She told me to give my life to God and let him deal with it,” he said.
• “I pray with the help of God that you will forgive me for the pain that I caused your family,” he said looking at relatives of his victims who watched through a window.
• “I am truly sorry.

In an interview, Curry said his life took a turn for the worse after he was fired from a busboy job for being late, and he began hanging out with drug dealers at age 22.

Other details

The execution was scheduled after 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2003. The Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott provided information on Alva Curry scheduled for execution after 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2003.

Final meal items were listed as: chicken fried steak, country gravy, hot buttered corn, mashed potatoes, hot buttered rolls, hot apple pie, vanilla ice cream, tea.

Final words were:

• I am truly sorry.

In jury selection materials mentioned in the case narrative, Curry claimed the trial court overruled three challenges for cause by the defense and that the rulings unfairly discriminated against him. The jurors identified were Wilson, Gauthier, and Middleton.

A quotation attributed to Wilson during jury selection was:

• “already some picture of guilt” had been created, indicating that he had made up his mind on the guilt/innocence question before the trial had even begun.